Riot Photo Story (Page 3 of 3)

In the early morning hours of February 26, 2010, a riot occurred on the south side of campus. When a "dance party" organized by the people behind the November 20 Wheeler Hall takeover ended that night, the participants walked over to and broke into Durant Hall, which was under construction. They destroyed some stuff and graffitied the building's inside, ultimately causing $20,000 in damages. The UCPD had insufficient officers on hand and didn't actually respond for half an hour. Around 1:40 AM, the people (only some were students) left the building, unstopped by the police, and walked down Telegraph. The Subway restaurant at the corner of Telegraph and Bancroft had its windows smashed. The rioters rolled dumpsters into the intersection and set them on fire. They also damaged parked cars and motorcycles in the area.

That night, I was pulling an all-nighter because of a physics problem set. I started reading facebook updates about a riot on the south side. My roommate and I reasoned that a riot was more interesting than homework, so we drove over. By the time we arrived, a bit after 2 AM, the riot police were on the scene and were extinguishing the fires. We came across a crowd of drunk/stoned people dancing in the streets and throwing debris at police.

A lot of the rioters covered their faces. Zachary Miller, on the right with the blue beanie, was arrested shortly after this photo was taken. He was charged with inciting a riot, resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer, and held on $22,500 bail. He's been involved in most of the protests this year.

A few times the police line charged the crowd to gain more ground. Here people are fleeing the clubs and tasers of the advancing police.

The crowd faces off with the police...

I got a little too close to the police line and was whacked with a baton a few times while trying to get this photo.

Marika Goodrich, the girl in the stripes, was arrested right after these photos were taken. She was excessively belligerent. An undercover officer shoved her away from the crowd and into the police line, where she was arrested. She was charged with assault on a police officer, inciting a riot, and resisting arrest, and held on $32,500 bail.

The rioters linked arms and faced off with the police line. The police eventually scattered the rioters, and they started moving up Durant.

There's a homeless guy who rolls a shopping cart around campus. Inside it is a car battery, a power inverter, a large set of speakers, a sound board, and a ThinkPad laptop. During this event he played LOUD hiphop and rap so the rioters could dance when they weren't busy flinging beer bottles and flaming trash at the police. During the day he folds out a solar panel to charge the electronics. I don't think the homeless guy who owns this setup is in the photo. There were two guys walking around in suits. Why, I have no clue.

The rioters blocked traffic. It was totally impossible to drive. Suddenly a white car pulled through the crowd, and people started car surfing and dancing to the loud music from the shopping cart.

Crazy.

More stuff was set on fire, but the police rapidly extinguished the fires. Motorcycles were tipped over, sign posts were snapped, and newsstands were destroyed.

Someone rolled a flaming dumpster down the hill at the police...it wasn't particularly effective.

The police finally broke up the riot, and the people dispersed. The police formed lines and walked around the neighborhood.

Recongregating at the end of a long night.

I found some fellow Daily Cal photographers documenting the aftermath.

I returned to my apartment and the problem set. I finished the problem set around 6 AM, did a quick edit of my photos, and finished those around 7 AM. I posted the photos to flickr and sent them to the Daily Cal. By the following afternoon, no fewer than four newspapers had contacted me to use the photos. Alas, none were willing to pay, and so I declined to grant them publication rights.

I walked around the neighborhood the morning after the riot. Everything had been cleaned up. The only signs there had been a riot were some smashed windows and scorch marks on the pavement.

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